1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a water leak prevention system, and more particularly, a flood detection and valve shutoff device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous innovations for various emergency shutoff systems have been provided in the prior art that will be described. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, however, they differ from the present invention.
A FIRST EXAMPLE, U.S. Patent Office Document No. 4,305,420, Issued on Dec. 15, 1981, to Nussdorf teaches an automatic water safety valve assembly having sensors adapted to be placed in various locations on the floors of a building so that an expandable element in each of the sensors having an electrically conductive plate expands when wetted to operate a circuit which causes the water safety valve to close and shut off the main water line to the building. The valve, when activated, also operates a power interrupter which deactivates the connections to the device from the AC power source.
A SECOND EXAMPLE, U.S. Patent Office Document No. 4,324,268, Issued on Apr. 13, 1982, to Jacobson teaches an automatic flood control valve apparatus having a normally open valve, in combination with a latching relay for closing the valve, which latches the valve in a closed position when the relay is energized and until it is manually reset, and a single transistor sensor circuit for energizing the relay in response to a flood. A power supply circuit is also disclosed.
A THIRD EXAMPLE, U.S. Patent Office Document No. 5,086,806, Issued on Feb. 11, 1992, to Engler et al. teaches an automatic fluid-flow control system for controlling the quantity of fluid allowed to flow uninterrupted through a conduit. It is particularly useful in controlling potentially damaging floods caused by breakage in a branch plumbing line used to supply water to beverage dispensing appliances, ice-making machines and similar devices which repeatedly consume limited quantities of water in relatively short flow cycles. The fluid-flow control system includes a flow meter which emits a signal containing information about the flow of fluid and also indicating when fluid is flowing and when it is not. The preferred metering device emits pulses at a rate proportional to the flow rate. A counter accumulates a pulse count during each period of fluid flow. A separate pulse sensing network senses the beginning and end of each period of fluid flow and disables and initializes the counter whenever fluid is not flowing. The accumulated pulse count in the counter is proportional to the quantity of fluid passing through the meter. The counter is set to close a solenoid valve whenever a predetermined maximum pulse count is exceeded. A back-up protective circuit is also provided, employing a timer to measure the time interval of each fluid-flow cycle. When the time interval is exceeded, the timer closes the solenoid valve. In addition to the flood protector mode of operation, a configuration employing the same circuit as a dispenser control device is also disclosed.
A FOURTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Patent Office Document No. 5,568,825, Issued on Oct. 29, 1996, to Faulk teaches a system for detecting leakage and unwanted flow in a fluid supply within a building capable of detecting small leaks and shutting off flow when such occur. The system may be operated in a continuous mode or on a timed mode, and the system allows flow for a preset small time period before the shut-off is initiated. The system includes an inflow sensor, a discharge sensor and valve means to seal the supply conduit in the event of unwanted fluid flow or back flow in the discharge conduit. The system is extremely sensitive due to the provision of a by-pass conduit around a check-valve in the supply conduit, where the flow sensor is positioned in the by-pass conduit, such that small volume water flow must pass through the flow sensor.
A FIFTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Patent Office Document No. 5,967,171, Issued on Oct. 19, 1999, to Dwyer Jr. teaches a system for use with a normally open manually actuated water valve, or any other suitable manually actuated device, for automatically closing the valve, or device, upon sensing water. The system includes at least one water sensor electrically connected to a motorized actuator mounted on the valve, or device, whereby a signal is transmitted either by electrical conductor, or in an alternate embodiment by RF transmission, to the motorized actuator upon sensing water, whereby the manual valve is automatically actuated to its closed position. The system may be installed on an otherwise conventional manual shut-off valve, without replacing the valve or otherwise interrupting flow through the valve.
A SIXTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Patent Office Document No. 6,057,770, Issued on May 2, 2000, to Justesen teaches a device for detecting water leakage and preventing flooding from a water-utilizing appliance connected to water supply lines with water hoses, comprising a main electric unit which attaches to a power line. The main electric unit includes outlets, into which the power cords of the water-utilizing appliance are plugged, and a plurality of water sensor strips extending from the main electric unit for detecting the presence of water. The water leakage detection and flood prevention device further comprises solenoid-actuated cut-off valves connected between the water supply lines and the water hoses of the water-utilizing appliance. When a water leak is detected by the water sensor strips, a circuit breaker within the main electric unit shuts off, cutting power to the outlets and the solenoid-actuated cut-off valve, thereby disconnecting the water supply and electric power to the water-utilizing appliance in order to prevent a flood.
A SEVENTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Patent Office Document No. 6,389,852, Issued on May 21, 2002, to Montgomery teaches a water supply safety valve kit for an appliance in which the kit includes an individual solenoid actuated normally closed valve unit for each water supply line to the appliance and a control unit that plugs into a conventional electrical female household outlet. The control unit has a first outlet at the household line voltage and into which the power cord of the appliance plugs and a second lower voltage outlet responsive to current flow to the first outlet. A count down timer circuit and a low voltage output are activated by the current flow to the first outlet and lines connect that low voltage output to the solenoid valve unit to open the same. The count down timer terminates the low voltage output after a preselected time period.
AN EIGHTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Patent Office Document No. 6,675,826, Issued on Jan. 13, 2004, to Newman et al. teaches a flood prevention system which includes a double-latching solenoid valve that shuts off a water supply line in response to a moisture sensor detecting a leak in a plumbing system. The double-latching feature provides the solenoid's plunger with two positions of equilibrium. This minimizes electrical power consumption so that the flood prevention system can be battery operated. To minimize a buildup of hard water deposits, the valve includes a flexible diaphragm and is cycled periodically regardless of whether flooding occurs. The sensor includes multiple methods of mounting to a floor.
A NINTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Patent Office Publication No. 2007/0289635, Published on Dec. 20, 2007, to Ghazarian et al. teaches a supervised wireless leak detection system, having a leak detection sensor unit, capable of transmitting a uniquely coded signal in response to a detected leak, a supervised wireless valve control transceiver unit having a receiver, capable of receiving the uniquely coded signal, and a transmitter for feeding the uniquely coded signal within the system, a valve shut-off mechanism in communication with the valve control transceiver unit the valve shut-off mechanism having a motor attached to a valve, the motor creating a rotation pulse used to close and open the valve, and a processor having an electronic circuitry containing sensor(s), detecting the motor rotation pulse count during a motorized valve closure or open process. The processor functions in a setup process to memorize (learn) the motor rotation pulse count, required, to close and or to open the valve. Wherein the processor upon receipt of the uniquely coded signal in response to a detected leak, applies power to the motor to close the valve, the motor controlled to stop turning the valve in response to a processor received motor rotation pulse count number, substantially equal to a previously stored number needed to close or open the valve. A digital, voice, or SMS text message phone dialer is add to dispatch the detected leak signals, and notify monitoring personnel supervised system operation, end provide user access to turn on or off a valve(s) from a remote location(s).
A TENTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Patent Office Document No. 7,753,071, Issued on Jul. 13, 2010, to Wood teaches a leak detector pad comprising a circuit board having a bottom surface and a top surface, spaced first and second electrically conductive traces located on the bottom surface, and an electronic circuit mounted on the top surface. The circuit includes a first segment adapted to create an alternating current (AC) voltage waveform, a second segment adapted to apply the AC voltage waveform between the traces on the bottom surface of the circuit board, a third segment adapted to create a measure of a capacitance between the traces based upon an AC current flowing between the traces as a result of the AC voltage waveform, and a fourth segment adapted to create a direct current (DC) voltage alarm signal if the measure of capacitance provided by the third segment indicates the presence of fluid.
AN ELEVENTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Patent Office Document No. 2,798,503 issued on Jul. 9, 1957, to Carver teaches the combination of an inlet pipe for a water heater or the like, a drip pan to localize and contain leakage water, a cut-off valve in said inlet pipe, said valve being biased toward closed position, a water softenable and rupturable link having attachment means at opposite ends, one of said attachment means being affixed to said pan near the bottom thereof, a cable operatively connecting said cut-off valve to the other of said attachment means and holding the valve in open position.
It is apparent now that numerous innovations for various emergency shutoff systems have been provided in the prior art that are adequate for various purposes. Furthermore, even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, accordingly, they would not be suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.